


I Don't Like You Much

by Anon1Adult



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, First Meeting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 19:32:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7587061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anon1Adult/pseuds/Anon1Adult
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Yeah, the union of John and Mary Winchester--Very big deal upstairs, top priority arrangement. ......Ooh, they couldn't stand each other at first. But when we were done with them--Perfect couple."</p><p>Mary wanted a normal life and John came down on the side of <i>too</i> normal.<br/>She would even go so far as to call him boring.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Don't Like You Much

**Author's Note:**

> Part of a Rare Pair challenge I signed up for last year, and never actually posted anything...
> 
> Trying to rectify that and get all my Mary Campbell in before S12 comes along and puts _their_ characterization in my mouth.

"See I know this guy." Mary chewed on the straw sticking out of her milkshake as Sarah, once again, went on about Mary’s next unwanted blind date. "He just got back from the war and," Sarah put her elbows on the table in leaned in, whispering as if there were actually people listening in on their conversation, "let me tell you; he's a looker." 

Mary raised an eyebrow and humored her friend. "And you're not hanging off his arm because…?" 

Sarah played with her straw for a moment, stabbing at her own milkshake before ducking her head with a bashful smile. "Brad came back into town-" 

"You harlot!" Mary gasped playfully. 

Sarah let out a happy squeal and grabbed for Mary's hand. "He wants to go steady!" 

Mary squeezed back, joining Sarah in her excitement. Sarah was one of Mary's only friends, bonding over their shared outcast status. Sarah had a bit of a bad girl reputation, and Mary was something of a loner -what with always missing school for hunts and all.

Mary always loved these normal moments with her friends. It was the distraction she needed from the intensity that was the family business. She looked forward to sitting here at Jay Bird's talking about the latest gossip, planning where they were going to go cruise later, and talking about the latest guy Sarah was hung up on. 

Sarah had taken it as her personal mission in life to find Mary a boyfriend even though they both knew whoever Sarah managed to set her up with wouldn't last longer than a second date. 

It was something of a tradition to them now. 

"Anyway," Sarah said getting right back down to business, "this guy, the one who just got back, he's something of a family friend of Brad's so well, I told Brad to bring him along Friday and you two could meet!" 

Mary gave her a flat look. "And where did you two decide this date would take place?" 

"We're going to the drive-in for the double feature Friday night." Sarah announced. 

Mary started to nod, before she remembered what Friday’s night shows were, "Wait. Not the horror double feature?" 

"The very same." Sarah smiled. 

Mary heaved a sigh, "You know how I hate those."

"That's only because you guess the endings every time." Sarah dismissed. Mary took a sip of her milkshake with a pout. It wasn't her fault all the stories were taken directly from their lore books. "Come on," Sarah whined, "it's just one night and then you can forget it ever happened." 

"Fine." Mary agreed, "But you are buying me a pack of Milk Duds between movies." 

Sarah gave a happy dance and leaned as far over the table as she could to pull Mary in a hug. "Oh you won't be sorry!"

\- - -

Friday night found Mary standing in Sarah's room picking at the top her friend had chosen for her. "This is a little-" 

"Bitchin! Made it myself!" Sarah called tossing clothes onto her bed. "I was going to wear it but it looks _way_ better on you." 

"Was going say moofy pie." Mary muttered turning to look at herself from a different angle. 

"Oh! This one." Sarah announced slipped on a cute pale purple number that showed a fair bit of her mid-drift. It was the middle of December, she was going to freeze in that. She threw on a jacket that didn’t actually cover anything as well. 

Mary collapsed onto Sarah’s bed and watched in mild amusement as Sarah danced around and completed her Friday night routine of posing in the mirror a few times before she untucked her hair a bit, fitting a pair of impressively large hoop earrings in before grabbing the perfume off the vanity and spraying it lightly over herself. About the only thing missing from tonight was Liddy, but seeing as she was now "Mrs. Walsh" they hadn't been spending an awful lot of time together recently. 

"We're gonna be late." Mary said from her perch at the top of Sarah's bed. Sarah gave herself one final look over in the vanity mirror and -before Mary could protest- took the bottle of perfume and spritzed it over her. Mary coughed as the sweet perfume settled over her. 

"Hip!" Sarah announced then was pulling Mary to her feet and out the bedroom door. 

\- - -

Sarah had told Brad to meet them at the burger joint a few blocks from her house. Mary had noticed the dates that come to Sarah’s house to pick her up never lasted very long. Often dismissed in conversation with a curl of Sarah’s nose and the announcement of “too boring” before she was going on in detail about the guy she had her eye on this week.

Walking arm and arm down the street, Sarah rambled on about Brad being different because he can sing all the words to every Carly Simon song and they spend all last weekend listening to the new Lou Reed record.

Mary already knew her future husband would have to love Led Zeppelin IV as much as she did. It’s been the only record on her player since it came out last month.

Sarah’s grip on Mary’s arm tightened in excitement when she spotted Brad. He was sitting on one of the many picnic tables, his feet on the bench seat as he talked with a dark haired man straddling the seat.

Sarah gave a delighted squeal as they got closer, and tried to keep her voice at a whisper as she said, "We set you up with a stone fox!" 

The guy had dark, thick hair slicked to the side just right, big brown eyes, and a strong jaw. He was a stone fox. 

_“Bet he could take a vamp’s head off in one swing.”_ Mary shook herself from the unfiltered thought. She was looking to get out, not drag someone else in. 

She plastered on a smile when both Brad and his friend stood from their table. 

Sarah abandoned Mary’s arm and wrapped herself around Brad who pulled her in for a kiss. Mary tried not to shuffle in discomfort as their kiss became a little more in-depth than Mary would consider publically appropriate. Or publically appropriate before they'd introduced the strangers they'd brought along for a blind date. 

From countless civilians Mary had interacted with, she recognized the skittishness in her date immediately. 

God, she prayed, please don't let him be scared of women. She turned and offered him her hand, “Hi, I’m Mary.” 

He gave her a shy smile and took her hand. His grip was light before adjusting to match her firm grip. "John. Nice to meet you." 

John hooked a thumb towards their intertwined friends, “Do you want a burger?” He finished the question by stuffing his hands into his jacket pocket and shooting a long suffering look at his friend, before giving Mary a pleasant smile. "My treat." 

Mary beamed at him. "Can't say no to that." 

 

Mary was a bit wigged out when he ordered a burger with a side salad. They were at a burger place, it was almost offensive to _not_ get the fries. 

Brad and Sarah were still sprawled over the table, locked by the mouth, when Mary and John came back with their arms full.

John clapped Brad on the leg, "You two gonna come up for air sometime today?" 

They pulled apart but kept close, trading pecks between straightening out their clothes. 

Mary shoved a fry in her mouth to keep from snapping at John. Sarah was a bit more open than Mary herself was comfortable, but she didn't mean any harm by it. If Sarah wanted to make out with her boyfriend all night then she shouldn't be questioned on it. Mary busied herself with unwrapping her burger as the happy couple wandered towards the burger line hand in hand. 

"So what do you do John?" Mary asked trying to fill the silence. They were supposed to be on a date after all. 

John swallowed a mouthful of salad. "I have a gig working on cars down on 2nd." 

Mary made a sound of interest but gave a mental groan. 

Another gearhead. Last time Sarah set her up with a mechanic Mary ended up breaking his forearm and giving him a black eye because he wouldn't stop touching her, or accept “no” for an answer. 

Mary suppressed a sigh as she bit into her burger, it was going to be a long night. 

 

The first movie was for the most part predictable. Mary was amused with the interpretation of blood splatter. The movies never could get it right, she suspected it had something to do with what Hollywood deemed appropriate for the masses. She was pleasantly surprised when the movie monster was killed halfway through and the hunt became for the second monster, only for them to discover there was a third. 

It was nice to see some realism in these drive-in movies.

"Well that was weird." John announced when the first movie ended. 

"Not your speed?" Mary teased. 

John dug out a malt ball and popped it into his mouth. "The monster killed a few cows and one jerk, who threatened him first by the way, and they wipe out the monster’s family?" 

Mary had seen enough monsters start with livestock then move to humans. Food is food to a monster, and when they find it, they shared it with their family. It was basic monster logic. 

“A monster is a monster." She shrugged. 

John popped in another malt ball and remained silent. 

 

The second movie had Mary watching John from under her lashes while the lead character got turned by the movie monster. One bite and for the next 50 minutes the character tried and failed to maintain his human lifestyle, only to be killed in the end by the townspeople. 

She liked this one more than the first one. How helpful would it be not only if civilians really believed their neighbor had turned into a monster, but if they helped track it down? 

John on the other hand, seemed less than pleased with how things turned out. 

Before the credits started to roll John's disapproving frown was maddening. 

"Monster sympathy this time too?" Mary asked folding her empty bag of M&Ms. 

John huffed a sigh. "He didn't even eat anybody-" 

"Did you miss the part where he chased and scared his fiancé half to death?" 

John gave a small shake of his head, "He only wanted to bite her so they wouldn't be separated by her dying before him." 

"Because that's the way to a woman's heart,” Mary snapped, “make her a monster." 

John shifted in the driver’s seat to face her, "Love of your life gets turned into an immortal being and you don't want to spend the rest of your days together if you could?" 

Mary rolled her eyes, he could not honestly be this hopelessly romantic. "If he's going to force me to be something I don't want to be, something that could possibly hurt other people, I'm going to take his head off." Mary stated as mater-o-fact. 

John looked startled for half a moment before he gave her a crooked smile, "Really passionate answer for a hypothetical situation." 

Mary frowned at him. Did he think she was going to lie, even for a hypothetical question? She wasn’t- the realization settled in and she clenched her teeth. She was talking about beheading on a night out with civilians. Damn this guy for getting under her skin. _”Time to laugh it off,"_ she thought. "You're telling me if you had a sweetheart and if she grew fangs and claws and a thirst for your beating heart, you'd give her a kiss on the cheek?" 

John turned over the engine and gave a shrug. "If she were the love of my life." 

_"He wouldn't last long,"_ Mary thought as she played the feminine card and gave him what she hoped was a playful laugh. 

As the last of the credits faded Mary was more than ready for this night to be over. 

Sarah poked her head over the back of the seat as John pulled out of the drive-in parking lot, "Do you guys want to grab a late night snack? I'm starving." 

Mary refrained from snorting a laugh at her friend. 

Sarah was probably dehydrated and Mary would buy her an extra fry if she could name even one main character from the night’s movies. But that would have to wait until tomorrow; right then all she wanted to do was get under her covers at home and catch up on some sleep. Down time was further and further apart as their network had lost a few pin points the past year. 

“I think I’m phasing.” Mary finally sighed. 

“Aw!” Sarah cried from the back seat. “You can’t leave! We were gonna go sit down under the old trestle with a bottle!” 

Mary side eyed John’s slicked and perfectly combed hair. He didn’t seem the kind to hang out with the moonshine crowd. 

John had turned from watching the road in time to catch Mary’s skeptical look. “Or,” he started, turning Brad’s van towards main street, “We get you ladies home so you don’t become the talk of the town over tomorrow’s brunch.” 

Mary was grateful for his attempt at saving her virtue from the town grapevine but well- 

Sarah’s bark of laughter echoed in the back of the Brad’s van. “Little late for that one Johnny.” Sarah laughed nudging Mary in the front seat, “That ship sailed for me years ago and Mary has long been the outcast, what with the devil worship and knife collection.” 

“Sarah!” Mary cried in shock.

“No amount of getting’ home early is going to change that.” Sarah pointed out. 

Mary opened her mouth a few times, struggling for words, “It’s not devil worship! It’s…“ 

She was suddenly hyper aware of John sitting in the driver seat trying to watch the road but shooting her a confused, and underlying horrified, look. She turned her frustration and embarrassment towards him, “It’s not devil worship. It’s not.” She assured him. “My parents have always been into that new agey stuff,” she lied smoothly, “there is always a candle burning somewhere in the house.” 

As if that meant something. 

“And the knife collection?” John asked neutrally. 

Mary mentally cursed her friend, she didn’t need any more help fitting into the ‘freak’ box. “Some people collect stamps.” 

 

If John had to sum up Mary Campbell, the words _“housewife”_ and _“stable”_ wouldn’t even cross his mind. 

The girl was clearly a screw’s turn away from the wheels flying off the wagon. What girl wouldn’t romanticize eternal damnation with the love of her life? Not Mary that’s for sure. 

And she admitted to having a knife collection? 

She was the kind of girl his mama warned him about. Even the friends she kept made him question her morals. 

He hadn’t been back in Lawrence long but he remembered Sarah from school. “Sharing Sarah” the guys use to call her. John had gotten back from the service to find his friend Brad head over heels for the girl. Sure he was glad Brad had a girl he’d been going around with for a while, but John didn’t understand how a guy could go steady with a gal who’d shagged more guys than the roster for the Kansas City Chiefs. 

John himself had only ever been with two girls and he’d picked out a ring for the second one, even it if didn’t work out in the end. 

What kind of girl didn’t say a word as she sat in the passenger seat while her friend had sex in the back seat? It was like Mary didn’t even notice it happening with her not so quiet running commentary of the movies. 

Who said things like “staking them to the grave bed would have prevented a lot of this” or scoff “optimist” when the sheriff pulled his gun on the vampire? 

_Who?_

John was determined to not see the like of Mary Campbell for a very long time. 

\- - - 

Mary sighed while resting her chin on her fist scanning through the newspaper a few counties over. 

Her parents insisted she get a local part time job with flexible hours so she wouldn’t be surrounded by hunters. Not that the type her parents hung around with were bad per say, but they wanted Mary to have some grasp of what a civilian life would be like if she had one. They’d convinced her to get a job at the library because it would have the most influx of people, and she would be able to set up a network of information, all without raising suspicion as to why she was taking home newspapers from five different counties. 

Kindling had become Mary’s favorite and most believable excuse. 

Between the notably out of season migration of bats and the recent spike in what looked like ghoul activity, Mary couldn’t stop thinking about the date gone wrong. And that had been weeks ago. 

Sarah was still going with Brad and Mary hadn’t realized just how much Sarah took her out on the town until it stopped. 

Just the thought of that John Winchester was aggravating. How could one person make her _that_ mad? She couldn’t get over how rude he had been about the whole thing. 

Who asks a question then makes fun of the answer? If he didn’t want her honest answer then he shouldn’t have asked the question. Did he expect her to lie? 

Sure she wasn’t the picture perfect house wife Liddy was, or quite the outgoing open gal like Sarah, but she wasn’t going to make up some answer she thought he might like to hear. Sure, she wanted to leave the hunting life but the reality was the world wasn’t as cut and dry as John wanted to believe. 

Love didn’t stand a chance when it came down to a monster’s instincts. 

The door to the library whooshed open, blowing the smell of the cold winter air. Mary didn’t look up from her paper as the patron knocked lingering snow off their boots on the entry mat, “New releases come in Tuesday Mr. Trinka. If I don’t get that Anthony Powell book back you’re not taking anything home.” 

“Um.” The hesitation of the deep voice -that was obviously not the eccentric Mr. Trinka- had Mary jerking her head up in surprise. 

It was John. 

Mary felt something flair in her stomach at the sight of him. He was still unfairly good looking for being such an ass. “Sorry,” Mary rushed to apologize, John was an ass but she still had the notion of customer service to uphold, “thought you were someone else. What can I do for you?” 

He held up a paper back with the familiar library sticker. “Returning a book and hoping to pick one up without a library card.” John set the book on the counter and Mary fought to choke back a laugh as she recognized it from one of the limited Harlequin books the library carried. 

“Really?" Mary raised an eyebrow at it before turning the expression to the man on the other side of the counter.

John slid a hand into his pocket and made a nervous motion with the other arm, “It-It’s not mine.” He sputtered, “I’m just returning it for my mama. I mean it’s not even my mama’s, she borrowed it from one of the ladies in her knitting circle." 

Mary listened to him ramble on with poorly concealed disbelief.

He huffed a flustered sigh then palmed the book again, “So can I return this and check out another one without a card?” 

Mary decided he was adorable, but still a jerk.

"Do you have someone you're checking it out for?" 

“It’ll be under Millie Colt.” 

Mary flipped open the check-out log, a large tome of all their library card holders. She’d organized it once and moved all the cards issued over 80 years to the back. Her boss had come just short of throwing a fit when Mary suggested throwing them away.

“You know what you're going to check out?” Mary asked, grabbing a ticket and scribbled down Millie’s name, number, and the page the record her card was on so she wouldn’t have to hunt for it again. 

“Apparently the author has other books?” John answered with a curl of disbelief in his tone. 

Mary flipped open another records book, quickly finding the book by title, and finding the aisle and section. She jotted down the section and handed him an index card. “Check in with me before you leave and I’ll mark the book.” John accepted the piece of paper but didn’t look away. 

Mary pursed her lips. “Was there something else?” 

He regarded her for a moment, his dark eyes intense. “No, I’ll-“ he waved the index card and pointed towards the section then he was walking away. 

Mary watched him go with a shake of her head.

 

It took John longer than he liked to find the section and twice as long to find the book. He’d doubted several times the book was even here. It was at the bottom of the first shelf he had checked, pretty much in plain sight. With a huff he grabbed it and started for the front desk. 

Mary had her back to him and was humming softly to herself as she checked in a small stack of books that had been piled on the edge of the desk. John didn't recognize the tune, being more a fan of Twitty than the “heathen music” as his mama called it. Distracted by the seemingly out of character actions from the Mary at the movies weeks before, John was caught off guard when a child, no older than 6-years-old, bumped into him with an “excuse me mister” to set a book on the counter. The little guy going up on his tip toes to see over the counter. 

"Miss Mary?" The little guy asked in a loud whisper, a child’s imitation of a library voice.

Mary turned to him with a brilliant smile and equally quiet volume, "Hi Matthew. How are you today?" 

"I finished the dragon book." He said excitedly, pushing it further onto the counter. 

Mary picked up the book and flipped open to a random page, "You did, did you? Who was your favorite character?" 

"I liked the princess." He said, bouncing on his tip toes.

Mary smiled down at him. "It's because she's so neat, huh?" 

Matthew bobbed his head enthusiastically, his voice growing louder in his excitement. "She was braver than any of the Knights and she killed the dragon that was eating all the sheep!" 

Mary laid the book on top of the pile she was checking in and leaned over the counter so she could pretend to whisper a secret. "And what did she do when that old man told her she would fail?” 

"She gave him the head of the dragon!" The little guy answered, quiet library voice forgotten. 

Mary knocked on the desk with a smile, “That’s right! And what are you going to do next time someone tells you _'you can’t do that'_?”

“I’m going to do it better than anyone else.” He announced proudly. 

Mary reached across the counter and ruffed up his hair, “I know you will. Do you want to find another book?” He gave her a nod then took off towards the children’s section. 

John gave her an easy smile when she straightened to regard him. “Killing dragons is kinda violent for someone his age, don’t ya think?” 

Mary glanced over her should make sure Matthew was searching through the kid’s section for another book, out of ear shot. “He’s small for his age. Really small.” Mary answered, running her hand over the book he had returned. “He gets- school isn’t easy for him but he’s a bright kid. Smarter than anyone in his class. He just needs a little boost in confidence so that he does try his best. If he finds it in slaying dragons then,” Mary gave a shrug and met John’s eyes, “ya know.” 

John gave her a weak smile and nodded. If someone would have taken an interest in him like that after his Pops- John ducked his head and pushed his book across the counter. 

Mary pulled out the card in the front pocket and filled it out, double checking that she'd written up Millie’s ticket with correct number. “Two weeks from today and it’s due back.” She said, handing it back to him. 

Beside John, Matthew's head peeked over the counter, breaking the spell. “Miss Mary, do you have any more stories about castles?” He asked in that childish whisper. 

“I know that we do.” Mary turned to excuse herself, but John was already through the swinging door and into the cold outside.

\- - -

Mary huffed a visible breath into the air. A couple more inches of snow had fallen while they’d been on the last hunt. It hadn’t been enough snow to close down the schools but there were forts and snowmen in almost every yard along her twilight walk. Their last hunt hadn’t set well with her and she wanted nothing more than some hot fries and a game of pool to unwind. 

A block from Mickey’s she noticed one sad snowman whose head had fallen off backwards. It was the Gains’ house. Their little girl was friends with a niece of Liddy’s. Eloise was the most polite little girl and always had a colorful headband keeping her afro out of her face. She would be heartbroken to know her snowman hadn’t made it through the night. 

Mary scooped up the snowman’s head and reshaped it making it not so top heavy. She settled it back on top of the two lopsided snowballs that made up the body. Pursing her lips and stared at his black rock eyes. Even put back together, it still looked like it was missing something. Unwrapping her scarf, Mary looped it around the snowman’s neck. 

Perfect. She could always make another scarf and now when the snow melted Eloise would have a pretty yellow scarf. 

Mary stepped back to the sidewalk to give it one final look over and noticed Eloise’s mother standing in the window. She was a tall, curvy black woman that Mary had only met a few times as her oldest son lived in the library most days. Mary gave her a small wave -which Mrs. Gains hesitantly returned- before turning and stuffing her cold hands into her jacket pockets. 

There was a pool table calling her name. 

 

Mary was a little young to be in the bars, but she knew the owner, Micky himself. Her daddy had helped Mickey out a few years back and he “ain’t forgot it yet”. 

Mickey himself set down a shot of whiskey and a beer as Mary settled at the counter waiting on one of the two pool tables to open up. “What have you been up to Mary Lou?” 

Mary smiled at the old nickname, she’d given up trying to get him to call her anything else. “The usual Mickey- A librarian by day, a little Van Helsing by night. Nothing too exciting.” 

He laughed, clearly taking it as a joke. Someone down the bar called his name and he wrapped his knuckles on the counter before leveling a finger at her, “You stay safe, ya hear.”

“No promises.” Mary smiled back at him. 

The words tasted like ash on her tongue. She wanted nothing more than to always be safe, but that wasn’t her reality. 

Normally she’d refuse the shot and give Mickey a reason to come back and fill her in on the town gossip but she figured she deserved it after the week she’d had. They’d ended up taking the hunt of ghoul activity she’d found. She and her mama had taken up the role of a grieving family looking for a burial place for her father, discreetly asking about the desecrations and if they had been happening at other cemeteries. Meanwhile, her dad posed as a grounds keeper looking for work. They were able to map out the cemetery and set a trap for thing without a hitch. 

Mary exhaled before tipping her head back and taking the shot. The ghoul’s last meal had been a young boy so mama and her left it to dad to take care of it. 

Mama never said it, but Mary suspected she didn’t like the life either. 

The whiskey burned going down, but she soothed it with a long sip of the chilled beer as she scanned the other bar patrons. Looking around she noticed a dark haired man standing at the jukebox, rolling a quarter in his fingers while he stared intently at the song selection. Narrowing her eyes at the back of his head, she hoping he wouldn’t pick something that would spoil her drinking mood. 

Mary groaned as the notes of a Merle Haggard song started. The dark haired man finally turned around and Mary turned back to the bar with a roll of her eyes. 

Of course is was John. And of course John would have the worst taste in music. 

He was suddenly at the chair next to her. "What you’ve got on tap please Mickey.” 

“Sure thing Winchester.” Mickey called from the far end of the bar. 

The smell of John’s cologne teased her nose as he leaned over the seat, bracing himself against the counter and the chair back, “Seat taken?” 

Mary turned to face him with a small smile. His smile slipped away into shocked confusion. “Go right ahead.” She said, feigning disinterest. 

“Here you go Corporeal.” Mickey said as he slid the beer across the counter. “Need anything else?”

John composed himself by taking the seat and accepting the beer. “This is good for now. Thanks Mickey.” 

"Holler if you change your mind John-Boy," Mickey said, already walking away to pour drinks for some newcomers.

Then they were alone again. Mary slowed her idle scratching of the bottle’s label to watch him hesitantly turn from her, stare at his bottle for a long moment before taking a slow drink. 

“Is your mother enjoying the second book?” She asked, struggling to find something to talk to him about.

“I’m not following you," he interrupted nervously, and at her confused blinking he seemed to realize she hadn’t said anything to the contrary. He turned towards the bar and took another long drink. She silently watched him fidget with the cuffs of his jacket then turn the bottle up to stare at the label as if it would absolve him of the verbal slip.

John cleared his throat and gestured with the now half empty bottle, “She’s was halfway through when I visited yesterday. She said she’d be in to return the book before it came due. Which you know, should be soon because she’s halfway done with it.”

Mary raised her eyebrows and gave him a tight smile, silently excusing herself from the bar and his awkward conversation in favor of the pool game finishing up behind them. 

"Mickey, can I get another?" She asked raising her half empty glass, knowing it wouldn't last her a game. With his reply of "sure thing Mary Lou" she gave John a final nod and slid off the bar stool to let Ol’Man George know she'd take the next game. 

Between assuring George she’d say hi to her folks for him and racking the balls for her solo game, she noticed a large mountain of a man leering at her from his own game of pool. He was clearly intoxicated, hitting the cue ball with far more force than necessary and being the typical loud obnoxious drunk. 

Less than four balls into her solo game of Cutthroat, where her High-Range was kicking ass, the guy was trying to hit on her. He was standing at her table, in front of her next position, trying to initiate a conversation by asking about her blouse while his friend repeatedly reminded him it was his shot back at their table. Mary ignored him for the most part, nodding as he talked, but never making eye contact; acknowledging him would only encourage him to stay longer. 

Mary was hyper aware of his gaze as he watched her move around her table taking shot after shot. She’d narrowed it down to one away from Low-Range being out and High-Range was a ball short of Mid-Range.

The mountain of a man had ordered another round and positioned himself near their drinks so he was facing her. 

After some relentless persuasion, his friend was able to convince him away and they relocated to an empty table across the bar. As a new, much more sober, duo broke next to her, Mary sighed in relief. She wouldn’t have liked it, but it wouldn’t have been the first time she had to use a pool stick as a weapon. The drunk’s booming voice faded to background noise as - _finally_ \- a decent Zeppelin song came on. 

Mary fell into the rhythm of lining up each shot and striking the cue ball. 

No one had wanted her table after her game ended with Mid-Range cleaning house so she broke again and started working through the striped balls before starting on the solids. She was three shots away from beating her personal best when she straightened up and backed into a solid body. Her reflexes had her spinning around and falling into a defensive stance.

Turning and taking in her unwanted suitor, she straightened immediately. He was a civilian, hardly the threat she was accustomed to, and she didn’t want to look like an out of place freak standing like she knew how to knock out a man more than twice her size. Uncaring, or unaware of her prowess, he gave her what he must have thought was a charming smile.

“Should have a drink with me now that your game is over," the man leered, nodding at her empty glass sitting on the table behind her.

Mary level him with an unimpressed look. He was swaying on his feet and sweating alcohol; there was no way that the stench of bourbon and sweat hadn’t gotten on her clothes. His eyes were also bloodshot, so she guessed that alcohol wasn’t the only thing he’d been taking tonight. “I’ve got at least five more shots here.” Mary edged, turning to line up her next shot.

His big hand dwarfed the cue ball as he grabbed it and shoved it into the side pocket. “Game over. What do you say little lady?” He gave her a wink, still with that repulsive caricature of a suave smile. Avoiding his face, it drew her attention to the shirt he had more than likely slept in. 

“No thank you I’d ra-“ 

He cut her off with a firm grip on her upper arm, “Don’t be a bitch and come sit with me.” He pulled her against his side, his hand coping a feel before wrapping tight around her waist in a move that was anything but accidental. 

The smell of stale beer and body odor was even more revolting up close. 

Before Mary could take the pool stick and break it over the drunk’s head, John was standing in front of them. “She told you ‘No’.” His dark eyes challenging. 

“Fuck off!” The drunk slurred, “Who do you think you are, The Duke? She’s not your old lady.” He placed a hand on her ass and squeezed in what was undoubtedly supposed to be a show of ownership. 

All it did was infuriate Mary at the blatant violation of her personal space. She threw all worries of being considered a freak out the window and swung the pool stick with all her might against the outside of the drunk’s knee, cracking the stick. He let out a yelp of pain and dug his fingers into her upper arm as he staggered. 

Used the proximity to turn into him, Mary delivered a sharp right hook to his temple. He released her arm as he started to go down so she used her now free range to grab the back of his head and slam his nose to her raised knee. 

There was a distinct pop and blood exploded from his nose before he hit the ground, finally releasing her arm.

“Were you raised with no manners?!” She demanded his hunched form. 

Mickey shouldered his way past the few gawker’s the “fight” had drawn, “Was gonna ask if there was a problem here but it doesn’t look like it.” He came up behind John and Mary as they looking down at the groaning drunk. “John-Boy, what have I told you about knocking out patrons before they close the tab?” 

“She’s got the right hook.” John defended, and Mary huffed a pout at how quickly John ratted her out. 

“Mary Lou.” Mickey sighed with a head shake. 

He stepped between them, dropping a hand to John and Mary’s shoulders respectively as he stood there staring down at the bleeding man. 

At the contact Mary felt the urge to gauge how badly she’d scared John; something within her needed to know that dropping the pervert wouldn’t make him look at her like he had when Sarah joked about the Devil Worship. 

At the same touch, John turned wide eyes to Mary that dissolved into a mirthful smile, complete with an unchecked bark of laughter. 

“What am I going to do with you two?” Mickey muttered moving to haul the broken man to his feet like he weighed nothing. “You’re out of here.” Mickey muttered, “Starting shit in my bar…” Mock whispering loud enough to reach the people gawking around them, he laughed. “Trust me buddy, you got off light with a busted nose and bent up knee. Little lady knows how to deal some damage.”

With a wink to Mary, Mickey was passing him off to the guy’s friend who was apologizing profusely and promising to get his drunk ass home. 

Mary noticed John’s frown when the apologies skipped right over her, and she smiled. “Don’t worry, he’ll be waking up sorry tomorrow.” She joked, secretly pleased he seemed like he intended to defend her honor or some nonsense. 

“Hope that lesson sunk in at least a little.” John confided as the onlookers attention dwindled around them. "I'd hate to see him go after a gal who doesn’t know how to handle herself.”

Mary ducked her head and gave him a sly smile, “That didn’t bother you?”

John looked at her, really looked at her, and Mary had to resist the urge to fidget as his scrutiny. “Only if you promise to not use it on me unless I deserve it.” 

Mary felt more like a woman standing there giggling at John than she had in a long time. 

“Do you wanna get another drink?” John offered, nodding towards an empty booth.

“I’d like that. More than anything.”


End file.
